1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content navigation method and apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for navigating content larger than a display screen of a terminal using a pointing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A content navigation apparatus is provided with a display unit for displaying a part of a content object larger than a screen of a terminal and a pointing device for navigating the content presented on the screen. Typically, such a pointing device is used on a touchscreen. The content navigation apparatus scrolls the content (e.g., an image) in response to a user action made on the touchscreen to present an off-screen part of the content. Such a content manipulation apparatus can be used for a portable terminal. With the advancement of communication technologies, portable terminals have evolved to provide various functions. For example, recent portable devices, such as a smartphone and a tablet Personal Computer (PC), allow the user to download diverse applications from application markets, i.e., an appstore, and install the downloaded applications.
Meanwhile, the user can make a gesture on the touchscreen to scroll the content in a certain direction. However, the content navigation method of the related art has a drawback in that the content may be scrolled in an unwanted direction due to a user's mis-manipulation or direction measurement error.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and an apparatus for navigating content presented on a screen using a pointing device that is capable of improving interaction reliability by recognizing a user's mis-manipulation and navigation direction measurement error.